Taurus 444 Ultralite - is it any good?

[Stuzzy]

Hello!

I'm looking for a christmas gift for myself and I thought about buying a 44 Magnum revolver. I was looking at the Taurus 444 Ultralite (Only online, haven't seen it IRL) has anyone of you ever shot it and can you recommend it? If not, are there any other good compact and light 44 mags you'd recommend? I really like the looks of that taurus!

I'm talking about this fella:

http://www.taurususa.com/product-details.cfm?id=204&category=Pistol

thanks! :)

[dascoyne]

Are you planning to shoot this thing? 44 mag in an "ultra-lite" frame is probably going to be really unpleasant to shoot.

Before someone makes a recommendation it's probably best to explain your reasons for considering this gun. Why do you want 44? Why a revolver? Why a light frame? Why Taurus? Is it the looks of the gun that you like?

[Stuzzy]

most of the time it'll rest in my glass showcase. I prefer the Ultralite because I really dig the looks. A "normal" raging bull 6" would be nice too but I like the looks of that short but still massive barrel.

I want a 44 because I already have several 9mm, .38 and .357 guns and I'd like to have a strong small package that also looks nice in my showcase.

I will shoot it for sure but I don't think I'll be able to do that more than a few times a year.

I'm open for other brands because I just chose Taurus because of it's looks and I'm open for other recommendations

thank you!

[Maddog5150]

Taurus 444 Ultralite - is it any good?

It's a Taurus. I've had one of their revolvers go off timing after just two shootong sessions and cause my face to bleed. I've had customers having to send theirs in because they were broken out of the box and Taurus still fail to repair it after rending the firearm again. The only Taurus I want to see out there is in the hands of our enemies, I would sleep better at night knowing that they will blow their hands up.

[Stuzzy]

that's a pretty hard statement but my gunsmith told me something similar on the phone right now. He said I should never buy a taurus used because there are a lot of defects that are of course warranty-matters. but your statement and the one of my gunsmith make me nervous.. can you recommend any other good .44 that looks nasty?

[Maddog5150]

Smith and lesson 329pd. Yeah its expensive but its a smith and a great gun. Oh yeah, when i tild Taurus what happened, they asked what I did and blamed it on me.

[dascoyne]

I own four S&W revolvers ... soon to be five ... and they've all been phenomenal guns.

[Oceanbob]

I own four S&W revolvers ... soon to be five ... and they've all been phenomenal guns.

THIS^^^

[jptopz]

My first Pistol was a Taurus Revolver. Never buy one again! Never malfunction, but very inaccurate. I ended up selling it for what I paid for it 17 years later. Go with a Smith&Wesson, or used Colt.

[Stuzzy]

I know S&W are good guns. I own a 327 JM and a 60 2 1/8" myself but I just thought I give Taurus a chance because their look really amazes me. I guess I gotta pay double the price I was hoping for to get a decent 44 mag.

[Oceanbob]

I know S&W are good guns. I own a 327 JM and a 60 2 1/8" myself but I just thought I give Taurus a chance because their look really amazes me. I guess I gotta pay double the price I was hoping for to get a decent 44 mag.

I'am kind of interested in the RUGER ALASKA 454 CASULL

It looks like a quality package.

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/14313

[Old4eyes]

It's a Taurus. I've had one of their revolvers go off timing after just two shootong sessions and cause my face to bleed. I've had customers having to send theirs in because they were broken out of the box and Taurus still fail to repair it after rending the firearm again. The only Taurus I want to see out there is in the hands of our enemies, I would sleep better at night knowing that they will blow their hands up.

Another Taurus hater hear. My Tracker was bad out of the box. Sent in for repair twice, they blamed me for shooting 38 specials rather than .357 - as if that would affect the timing problem. They did get it fixed, but it is my last Taurus.

[k1dude]

I have a Taurus Tracker Total Titanium 4" in .41 mag that I love. Light and potent. I've had no problems with it at all, but I got it about 10 years ago. So maybe QC has changed. It is VERY accurate. It packs a punch but is fun to shoot.

http://www.taurususa.com/images/imagesMain/425SH4C.jpg

[k1dude]

You could always get the S&W equivalent of the Taurus 444:

It's 3.2 ounces lighter too (http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product4_750001_750051_765591_-1_757898_757896_757896_ProductDisplayErrorView_Y)

http://www.smith-wesson.com/wcsstore/SmWesson2/upload/images/firearms/detail_md/163414_01_md.jpg

But I imagine that wood grip will hurt a lot more than the rubber grip on the Taurus. You'd have to change it out to rubber.

[Stuzzy]

The main problem that keeps me away from another S&W is the price. The 329PD is very nice but I live in switzerland and it costs about 1800$ over here. the Taurus 444 Ultralite would cost me only about 900$ :/

[k1dude]

The main problem that keeps me away from another S&W is the price. The 329PD is very nice but I live in switzerland and it costs about 1800$ over here. the Taurus 444 Ultralite would cost me only about 900$ :/

I don't know if you would get nailed by some tariff, but you could purchase the S&W in the US and the savings would pay for your flight. You would get a trip to the US out of it.

[pyromensch]

well it's got to be better than the 2 629's i had

[pyromensch]

I own four S&W revolvers ... soon to be five ... and they've all been phenomenal guns.

any of them 44 mags? i've got a great m28, but the 44mags from the mid 80's on.......suck

[Maddog5150]

I don't know if you would get nailed by some tariff, but you could purchase the S&W in the US and the savings would pay for your flight. You would get a trip to the US out of it.

Someone who physically lives in an other country cant just come here to buy a firearm.
If he is a US citizen or a Perminent Resident with a US address then he can. If he has a Visa or other non perminent resident, its a PITA and would need a hunter safety course and 90 days of utilities.

[dascoyne]

any of them 44 mags? i've got a great m28, but the 44mags from the mid 80's on.......suck

I'm picking up an 8 3/8" M29-2 from the 70s this week.

[Rob454]

ive had two taurus guns. one a 44 magnum and the other was a recent purchase for my wife. granted I did not shoot either gun a lot ( the 44 I think was 50 rounds and the wifes was 20 rounds they were not bad out of the box, they did not go off timing in 6 rounds or anything else bad. My buddy has a Taurus 357 and hes had no problems with it. Maybe I was just lucky?

[Old4eyes]

ive had two taurus guns. one a 44 magnum and the other was a recent purchase for my wife. granted I did not shoot either gun a lot ( the 44 I think was 50 rounds and the wifes was 20 rounds they were not bad out of the box, they did not go off timing in 6 rounds or anything else bad. My buddy has a Taurus 357 and hes had no problems with it. Maybe I was just lucky?

When did you buy your guns, and when did your buddy buy his? I bought my Tracker in January of 2009. The cylinder would not lock up properly, it was off to the point where if the cartridges that didn't fire had fired, they would have been slamming into the forcing cone. Sent it in and when it came back, it was a slightly better, but you could still induce the problem. As I stated in an earlier posting Taurus repair depot blamed the problem on using 38 special rather than .357. Yeah, sure. Sent it right back the same day we got it fixed the first time and they got it right the second time. Total time in repair, about 7-8 weeks. The shop where I purchased it had problems with 2 other Trackers. Maybe they were all built right after a siesta break. When the shop owner confronted the Taurus sales rep at the shot show in 2009 the Rep said they knew there were QC problems and that they had written a letter to the factory. The shop owner stopped carrying the Taurus line right then and there. I tell people to join the Taurus Armed site. Only when you join the site does it display the complaint threads. It's an eye opener. They are cheap guns both in price and quality. If you got a good one, you probably are lucky.

[Maddog5150]

Sad part is Old4eyes, I was assuming I have delt with you before based on the info you gave about the shop having problems with them and with you sending it back twice then looked up at your location. Taurus problems are just that common I guess.

[Stuzzy]

I guess the ship for taurus has now definitely sailed.

I was looking at the Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan and I also dig the looks. From what I read about it it's quite a good choice. the "problem" now is that it's available in 44 Mag and 454 Casull. What's the better choice? It's purpose will be as I mentioned above mainly for my showcase and "funshooting" a couple times a year at the indoor range.

[paul0660]

How much is ammo in the Alps?

[Stuzzy]

The price of ammo is not very important for me because I won't shoot it very often. I don't know the price for .44 or .454 casull but it's about 0.70$/shot for .38spec and 0.50$/shot for 9mm.

[dascoyne]

I wouldn't use the price of 9mm or .38 as a reference for the price of .454 or .44 ... LOL.

Heck ... might as well go for a S&W M500.

http://hammerbackguns.com/images/163504.jpg

[paul0660]

If the price of ammo doesn't matter, and you can get any at all, get the biggest damn gun you can find.

If it does matter, or you actually want to practice enough to be competent, get the .44 mag and figure out a source for .44 special for practice. I actually think Dirty Harry has more panache over there than Casull.